e.Bulletin

e.Bulletin for June 2012

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT ROD SNOW
Lend a Learned Hand – “Check Yes” to Volunteer for a Pro Bono Opportunity

As many of you know, the Bar’s “Check Yes” campaign is now in full swing. Members of the Pro Bono Commission, the Bar’s pro bono coordinator and the pro bono director at Utah Legal Services are in the process of meeting with members of various law firms and government offices to assist in the development of written pro bono policies and to encourage lawyers to “check yes” on their bar license renewal application for the opportunity to volunteer to take a pro bono case, if called.
The state is being organized by judicial districts. Each of the judicial districts will have a panel of local attorneys who have volunteered to take a pro bono case. Committees will be organized for each judicial district (PBC) and many of the districts will be chaired or co-chaired by a member of the judiciary. Cases will be assigned as determined by the committees. You may also volunteer to serve on the PBC for your district. Both litigation and transaction lawyers are needed. Free CLE will be offered to those who have volunteered and panels will be organized by experience and expertise where possible.
Please “check yes” on your license renewal application to be assigned to a panel in your respective district. There is a significant unmet need for our services to assist those who are at or below 125% of poverty level. Our motto, as coined by the co chair of the Bar Commission’s Pro Bono Committee, Rob Rice, is “Lend a Learned Hand.” Judge Hand stated, “Thou shalt not ration justice.”
As Justice Lewis Powell noted, “Equal Justice Under the Law is not merely a caption on the façade of the Supreme Court building; it is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our society. It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status.” Alexander Hamilton said, “The first duty of society is justice.” And Dickens said, “There is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice.”
Approximately 62% of the funding for Utah’s legal service organizations has come from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) which is funded by Congress. Since 2008 the funding for the LSC has been cut from 420 million dollars to 348 million dollars for FY 2012.
At the end of 2011 LSC conducted a survey to assess the impact of funding reductions on their operations. In 2012, LSC grantees project a total loss of 1,226 full time employees between December of 2010 and 2012. This includes 582 attorneys, 250 paralegals and 394 support staff. LSC estimates 81,000 fewer low-income Americans will receive assistance from the programs it funds during 2012 than received assistance in 2011.
We can no longer stand idly watching a growing number of our low income friends and neighbors denied access to justice where there is a critical need. As professionals and lawyers, we are duty-bound to make a difference, and now is the time. This is our time and our opportunity to step forward and make a difference by “checking Yes.”
These cuts have translated into funding losses for Utah of $678,328 since 2009. Consequently Legal Aid and ULS helped 4,864 fewer individuals in 2010/2011 than in 2009/2010. The need is great and rising. “Lend a Learned Hand” is calling all of us to “Check Yes” on this year’s license application.
So much good work goes on quietly, without fanfare or notice, by so many members of our Bar. Over 70% of you responded last year to the Bar Survey that you engage in pro bono work on a weekly basis. We recognize what you are doing and thank you for your efforts. The Bar’s “Check Yes” campaign and program is simply a reorganization and revitalization of our efforts, facilitating the delivery of pro bono services to qualified individuals and families in an efficient manner.
As Sandra Day O’Connor has stated, “Certainly, life as a lawyer is complex today. The ever-increasing pressures of the legal marketplace, the need to bill hours, to market to clients, and to attend to the bottom line, have made fulfilling the responsibilities of community service quite difficult. But public service marks the difference between a business and a profession. A profession must devote itself first to the community it is responsible to serve. And I can imagine no greater duty than fulfilling this obligation. And I can imagine no greater pleasure.”
Please join us in “Checking Yes” on this year’s license renewal application and “Lend a Learned Hand.”

1.) The annual Bar licensing renewal process has started and can be done only online. Sealed cards have been mailed and include a login and password to access the renewal form and the steps to relicense online at https://www.myutahbar.org. No separate form will be sent in the mail. Licensing forms and fees are due July 1st and will be late August 1st. If you need to update your email address of record, please visit www.myutahbar.org. To receive support for your online licensing transaction, please contact us either by email at onlineservices@utahbar.org or, call 801-297-7021. Additional information on licensing policies, procedures, and guidelines can be found at http://www.utahbar.org/licensing.
2.) The 2012 Summer Convention is just around the corner. Please make your plans now for what is sure to be a memorable time July 18th – 21st in beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho. Our keynotes are presenting timely and valuable messages. For example, the future of the practice of law in the United States will be addressed by Professor Tom Morgan from the George Washington University Law School. You do not want to miss the keynote presentations. View the accommodation arrangements at http://www.utahbar.org/cle/summerconvention/accommodations.html.
3.) MCLE Notice – Notice of July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2012 MCLE Reporting Cycle – Due to the change in MCLE reporting deadlines, please remember that your MCLE hours must be completed by June 30th and your report must be filed by July 31st. If you have always filed in the even year, you will have a compliance cycle that began July 1, 2010 and will end June 30, 2012. Active Status Lawyers complying in 2012 are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of Utah approved CLE, which shall include a minimum of three hours of accredited ethics. One of the ethics hours shall be in the area of professionalism and civility. (A minimum of twelve hours must be live in-person CLE.) For more information and to obtain a Certificate of Compliance, please visit our website at www.utahbar.org/mcle. If you have any questions, please contact Sydnie Kuhre, MCLE Director at sydnie.kuhre@utahbar.org or (801) 297-7035 or Ryan Rapier, MCLE Assistant at ryan.rapier@utahbar.org or (801) 297-7034.
4.) Check out the numerous CLE seminar offerings through the Utah State Bar CLE Department: http://www.utahbar.org/cle/events/ and/or the Section lunches: http://www.utahbar.org/cle/events/html/section_luncheons.html